Love Story - The End Of The Beginning
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant—
the covenant he swore with an oath
to our ancestor Abraham.
We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live. Luke 1:68-75
I heard an expression on television once. A commentator, talking about an ongoing situation, said, “I’m not sure if this is the beginning of the end, but it is definitely the end of the beginning.” Confusing? I thought the same way. We focus so much on getting to the finish line. Even in scripture, Paul talks about it saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” (2 Timothy 4:7) The interesting thing is that was not the end for Paul’s journey, but perhaps, it was definitely the beginning of the end. However, I would like to stress that in our lives, we are not to focus on the beginning of the end. In fact, we must remember that our journey on earth is not a sprint where the end is necessarily near. No, our race is a marathon where we are pacing ourselves. In my church, I got a remarkable story from a friend who retired a couple years ago, and he was pivotal in the transformation of another person that gave their life to Christ. For my friend, the marathon was still going. It did not stop because he stopped working. In the job, maybe it was ‘the end,’ but for his Christian journey, perhaps it was ‘definitely the end of the beginning.’
God sent His son not so that His life would end but instead that our relationship could begin. Today’s verses tell of the coming of Christ and the reinforcement of God’s covenant with His people. This love story began with God having this incredible love for us that we somehow lost because we messed up. Then He produced a plan to get us back. So now we are at the end of this journey where God and His people get back together, and they live happily ever after. Is this the end? Well, I’m not even sure about this ‘happily ever after’ thing because we are not always happy, are we? In fact, for those who have heard me distinguish between ‘happiness’ and ‘joy,’ some of us may even be devoid of joy too. You see, the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ was not the end of all suffering and pain. It was not a promise of all sunshine and roses. It was about God fixing the simple problem that we, because of sin, could not reach Him. It was through His son, Jesus Christ, that we could have a relationship again through the process of redemption. 2 Corinthians 5:19 said, “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” Last week, I wrote that we are valuable to Him even when we ourselves cannot see it. We are so valued that even before we were born, God had this plan so that no matter how messed up we may get, we would always know that He loves us and can come to Him. James 1:18 says, “He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.” There it is. From the creation of Adam to now, nothing has changed. That’s what makes this love story the greatest of them all, and no, this is obviously not the end.
We were made to love others as God loves us. That is how this love story works. Lots has changed in our world, and there is more brokenness and division than many of us have ever experienced. But I tell you God has a plan, and if we are willing to love Him as He loves us, we can heal so much. Let us remember the words of Paul as he said to the Hebrews:
So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
How can God’s love for you inspire a greater love for others? How will you continue to run the race for God? My prayer is that we realize this love story for God is not the beginning of the end, and it is just the end of the beginning. I pray you all have a safe, healthy, and Happy New Year! Amen.